ISSUED: 19 October 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: Dana Costa
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Chris Colbert, president of the Shepherd University Foundation, announced that James Taylor has been appointed executive vice president of the Foundation, effective December 5, 2022. Taylor most recently served as president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia.
“I am excited to join the Shepherd University Foundation and to build on the strong base that Monica Lingenfelter has developed in her 25 years of leadership,” Taylor said. “I look forward to working with the Board and staff of the Foundation, President Hendrix and her team, as well as the entire Shepherd community in the coming years.”
Under Taylor’s leadership, the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg raised more than $88 million to support programs in the region, developed new programming to fill identified gaps, and reduced overhead costs by nine percent in fiscal year 2021.
“On behalf of the board of directors and staff of Shepherd University Foundation, we are confident that James will build on our many accomplishments over the past 60 years achieved through the remarkable partnership with Shepherd University’s administration, faculty, students, alumni, and friends,” Colbert said.
Taylor’s seven years with the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg caps a 26-year career with the United Way. He started his nonprofit career with Mile High United Way in Denver, Colorado, in 1996, and he served the United Way in three other locations—Tampa, Florida, Washington County, Maryland, and Lafayette, Indiana—before arriving in Richmond.
Prior to shifting gears to serve the nonprofit community, Taylor was a hospital chaplain in Denver.
Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts in politics from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a Master of Divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
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